Second Act Stories

Fran Tarkenton is unquestionably one of the greatest quarterbacks ever to play the game of football. A true legend who rightfully earned his place in the NFL Hall of Fame, the College Football Hall of Fame (for his championship career with the University of Georgia Bulldogs), and on the list of the 50 Greatest Minnesota Vikings AND the 50 Greatest New York Giants. In his rookie season in 1961, Fran joined an expansion team called the Minnesota Vikings, and in the first-ever Vikings game he threw four touchdown passes and ran for a fifth, upsetting the great Chicago Bears. At the time of his retirement from the NFL in 1978, Fran owned every significant passing record: 3,686 pass completions, 47,003 passing yards, and 342 touchdowns. Legend.

After retirement, Fran became a commentator alongside the one and only Howard Cosell in the Monday Night Football broadcast booth, he landed a job hosting That’s Incredible, one of the biggest sensation TV shows of the 1980s, and he became an early entrant into the software business, a visionary move that launched what would become the longest-lasting and most lucrative part of his illustrious and multifaceted career.

At 84.6 years old as of the date of this interview, Fran is as sharp – and as busy – as he’s ever been. His company, Tarkenton, is as highly regarded as it is successful in helping other businesses grow and prosper. All the incredible lessons he learned growing up, on the gridiron, in entertainment, and in his many business ventures coalesce into his leadership of Tarkenton to this day.

But Fran claims no responsibility for the success he’s achieved. He attributes it all to the coaching he’s received; in the NFL, from greats like Sid Luckman, Norm Van Brocklin and Bud Grant; and in business, from former IBM CEO John Akers to Walmart founder Sam Walton.

In this episode, Fran shares colorful stories about his journey from the streets of Washington, DC; to Athens, Georgia, home of UGA; to the NFL; to entertainment; and ultimately to a wildly successful business career.

You can learn more about Fran by Googling his name, and you can learn more about Tarkenton Companies by visiting www.tarkenton.com.

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Bruce and Mira Brach opened Toy Utopia, an independent toy store, on May 27, 2022. Based in Red Bank, NJ, their aim was to create a “magical place that sparks interest, curiosity, imagination and creativity in children and adults.”

The business is a leap for both of them. Bruce had managed a landscaping business for over 25 years. Mira was – and still is – a registered nurse.

A lifelong collector of vintage toys, Bruce was ready to exit his company. Mira asked him, “What do your really want to do next?” Bruce’s response…open a toy store. And that's what they did together.

Click here to learn more about Toy Utopia. And if you find yourself in Red Bank, NJ, we hope you’ll give Bruce and Mira a visit.

Dan Spitz is a true pioneer in every sense of the word. As the lead guitarist of legendary band Anthrax, Dan was one of the innovators who birthed the entire genre of thrash metal music. Anthrax is one of the “Big Four” thrash metal bands, a group that also includes Metallica, Megadeth and Slayer. He sold millions of albums, played on the world’s biggest stages, and saw his music influence legions of acts that would follow.

In 1995, as Anthrax continued to reach new heights, something changed. Dan realized his heart was no longer in it, so he quit the band without a plan for what was next.

Dan had been exposed to watchmaking at a young age through his grandfather, who owned a jewelry store where he repaired watches in New York’s Catskill Mountains. That childhood experience came rushing back when he stumbled across an ad for the Bulova watchmaking school. The pieces fit together as perfectly as the mechanics of a complicated watch, and Dan enrolled, graduating a four-year program in 18 months. Then he became the first American to be accepted into a Swiss watchmaking school, and his incredible second act was official.

Today, Dan is one of the world’s most sought-after master watchmakers. He’s the watchmaker who watchmakers go to when they can’t solve a problem.

In this episode, you’ll hear some of the details about the birth of thrash metal, the conflict that led to Dan’s departure from Anthrax, and the journey that led a thrash metal legend become a legend in the world of fine watches.

You can learn more about Dan Spitz by visiting his website at www.delraybeachvintagewatches.com, and www.danspitz.com.

Second Act Stories theme music: "Between 1 and 3 am" by Echoes

For most of his adult life, Henry Rock working in advertising sales representing a wide range of black media . His work brought him in direct contact with a number of inspiring, African-American entrepreneurs and that gave him an idea: what if we could inspire young black males in inner cities to explore entreprenurial opportunites?

After relocating to North Carolina, Henry began pursuing this idea with the help of National Urban League and it's local chapter in Charlotte. His TEDx Talk, Creating A New Class of Entrepreneurs, put the wind in his sails to launch City Startup Labs. Over the past decade, the organization has trained over 220 young men and women to get into the startup game. Recently, City Startup Labs has focused on helping formerly incarcerated individuals pursue their business dreams.

Now 72 years old, Henry reports he's the happiest he's ever been. "And I owe it to not taking my hands off the steering wheel but not gripping the steering wheel and trying to steer my life but rather allowing my life to unfold...And it has unfolded in a very beautiful way." 

Mark Greaney is a #1 New York Times bestselling author. His debut thriller, The Gray Man, was published in 2009 and became a national bestseller and Netflix film starring Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans. He wrote twelve subsequent Gray Man novels that have been released to date. He is also the co-author of seven Tom Clancy novels. His latest book, Sentinel, was released on June 25th, 2024. It is his 25th published work.

Before emerging as a top thriller author, Mark spent 20+ years working as a bartender, waiter and midlevel office worker in his hometown of Memphis, Tennessee. But in his late thirties and after the death of his father, he finally got serious about writing. "I had this amazing epiphany. I was stressed about where I was in life. I didn't have a good position. And I had a lot of social anxiety. I drove a beat-up car. But it came to me one day that I loved to write and I was doing what I loved. And I realized I was successful even if I never got published...And within two years, I was published. And within four years, I was writing with Tom Clancy. And within twelve years, I had a movie out."

Sam McKinlay experienced something a lot of people can relate to in work and in life: she spent almost 25 years married… in her case, to a career that was exciting, fulfilling and rewarding. But over time she and the career she once loved grew apart from one another. They fell out of love and split up.

Sam faced plenty of adversity over the years: a series of poorly timed recessions in her native England; an initial move to America that landed her in Florida (which wasn’t a match for her); and later the clean break from a well-established career and a leap into the unknown.

After dipping her toe in the real estate waters, Sam found her calling. She was able to apply a surprising amount of her PR and marketing experience to launch a new career as a concierge real estate agent. And it worked! In her first year she earned a prestigious “Rookie of the Year” award from her broker.

In this engaging episode, Sam walks through the challenges she faced trying to find a meaningful career path early on; her journey through working for other people, then working for herself, then selling her firm and working for other people again; and the eventual abrupt end of her time working in PR.

You can learn more about Sam McKinlay by visiting her website at www.sammckinlay.com.

Second Act Stories theme music: "Between 1 and 3 am" by Echoes

Dann McDorman always dreamed of writing and publishing a novel. After graduating from Columbia University, he spent a decade pursuing that dream with little impact. "Not only was I never published, I never heard back from a single publisher. I had zero success."

As he hit his 30s, he found his way to a career in broadcast journalism initially working for Fox News but then climbing the ladder as a producer at MSNBC. Starting a family, his dream of being an author was put on the backburner. Today, Dann is the Executive Producer of "The Beat With Ari Melber" that airs weeknights from 6:00-7:00 pm.

During the Covid-19 Pandemic and without a daily commute to the MSNBC Studios, Dann had some extra time on his hands. He started thinking about writing again. With his wife’s encouragement, he wrote a full length mystery novel called West Heart Kill. And at the age of 47, his book was published by Knopf Publishing.

Dann's advice to aspiring authors and second act pursuers: "Don't give up...Stick with it and don't think it's too late to be successful." 

Amy Siewe is the quintessential embodiment of how passion drives a second act.

She left a safe and lucrative career as a real estate broker to hunt pythons in the Everglades.

She proudly shares that she’s 5’ 4”, 120 lbs., and captures pythons as big as 180 lbs. by physically jumping on them and wrestling them into submission.

This is what pure passion looks like.

In this fascinating episode, Amy shares what motivated her to leave a relatively safe career selling real estate to become The Python Huntress.

In this wild ride, she shares how she became so interested in snakes, unbelievable accounts of actual hunts, how she built a business out of hunting pythons, why her role is necessary, and which of her two careers is more stressful.

Follow Amy Siewe, The Python Huntress, on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.

Second Act Stories theme music: "Between 1 and 3 am" by Echoes

Second Act Stories has officially defied the odds. We've been nominated for a Webby Award!

But our category is stacked with stiff competition: Michelle Obama, Sarah Silverman, TED Audio, Lemonada,  and Slate.

We need your vote! We can win this with your help.

Here’s how you vote:

• Go to vote.webbyawards.com
• Click the search button on the right-hand side of the screen, under the start voting button
• Type in Second Act Stories
• Click on our category in the search results
• Click on our logo to cast your vote

All it takes is entering your email address and a password, and then clicking the validate button in the email you receive from the Webby’s. It'll only take a minute.

Pretty amazing stuff.

Tiffani Evans' life changed completely on August 24, 2021. That's when her 8-year-old son PJ was killed in gang-related, gun violence in the Washington, DC region.

Emerging from the dark days that followed his death, she helped form the "Strong Azz Mothers," a group of area women who lost children to gun violence. The organization focuses community attention on the problem but also serves as a strong support group. According to Evans, "It's a sorority that we never asked to be in. But we're in it so we try to support each other. Nobody understands this like we understand it."

With the help of the DC Theatre Lab, the group performed a play titled "Turning Pain Into Purpose: Say My Son's Name" to a packed auditorium. The Strong Azz Mothers were profiled in an amazing article by Washington Post Reporter Jasmine Hilton (which is how we first heard of the story).

Tiffani has most recently taken on a new role working in the Prince George's County School System as a "violence interruptor." Her message to students, "Don't let a five second emotion change your life forever. There are a lot of people serving life in prison right now for a mistake that they wish they could change."